Adobe Design Achievement Awards 2003 alumnus, Willy Wong is now the Chief Creative Officer at NYC & Company, which is the City of New York’s official marketing, tourism and partnership organization. Willy also serves on NYCxDESIGN, which is a collaboration among the City Council, Mayor’s Office, City agencies and a steering committee. The steering committee is composed of some of the City’s most renowned design institutions, educators, entrepreneurs, curators, and designers.

NYCxDESIGN organizes New York City’s inauguralcitywide event to showcase and promote design in all disciplines. The citywide events will be held from Friday, May 10, through Tuesday, May 21, 2013 and will collectively celebrate New York City’s contributions to the evolution of design. Events will be hosted at a multitude of venues across all five New York boroughs, including large conventions, galleries, design institutions, and public parks. NYCxDESIGN will bring visibility, education, and inspiring dialogue to the forefront of the city’s experience, increasing cultural awareness and appreciation for design of all disciplines.

Wong began contributing to NYCxDESIGN because of his passion to, “…support an incredibly valuable industry and thriving community, to expand the local economy and job base, and ultimately to help the City and the world function and look that much better. As the world’s stage, NYC is where design students, designers and those who love design from every corner of the globe all aspire to see, feel, build, share and shine. And it’s an ecosystem that thrives on cross pollination between disciplines.”

Wong also added that in NYC, design permeates through all boroughs, “…from the sustainably manufactured office furniture that decorate the interiors of Manhattan’s skyscrapers, to the urban grid on which they sit; from the asymmetrical earrings that were 3D printed in Queen’s Long Island City, then featured in a mobile app, which was developed in the Flatiron district, using bespoke web fonts crafted in Brooklyn…”

Wong is also President of AIGA/NY, and has been dynamic in broadening community involvement and providing opportunities for educational mentorship during the NYCxDESIGN events. Cultural centers, such as the Cooper-Hewitt Design Center in Harlem and The Museum of Arts and Design, will have sessions available for design enthusiasts of all ages, including children. The Times Square Alliance will partner with AIGA/NY’s Mentoring Program, by hosting a culminating project created by students from the New York City High School of Art and Design.

NYCxDESIGN planning for citywide events

With the ADAA offering a more robust and ambitious mentorship program in 2013, we’re thrilled to share the NYCxDESIGN opportunities with ADAA alumni and extended community.